Secrets of blind tasting
When was the last time you were asked to guess what the wine was in your glass? Anyone who professes some knowledge of wine will be familiar with this usually humbling challenge. But how much faith should we place in blind tasting? And why is it considered the gold standard of wine expertise? After all, we wouldn’t question an art critic’s ability to respond to, and assess, a painting when they don’t know who painted it. At best, it amounts to checking the bone fides of any taster confident enough to pronounce on the quality of a wine; at worst, the challenge is pressed with scepticism about whether there is any such thing as wine expertise. But why is this the right test of expertise in the wine world?